War and Society in Habsburg Spain

A collection of studies of war in early modern Spain. Aspects covered include the impact of war and military spending on the economy; the administrative effects of war; the equipment of the Spanish Armada; and assessment of the Armada's military and political significance.

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The historical study of war in the Spain of Philip II forms the starting point for the articles in this volume. They approach this not so much from a military angle, but as a problem of organization, procurement and finance. In a sense, the articles represent an assessment of the effectiveness of the Spanish government and so, given the apparent precocity of government growth in 16th-century Spain, they can also be seen as a critical commentary on the operational capabilities of the early-modern absolutist state. Six of the essays here focus on the Spanish Armada, in terms of its political and military objectives, but demonstrating how these were conditioned by basic systems limitations, not least in the procurement of suitable cannon. In the final articles Dr Thompson turns to the impact of war and its financing on the social structure, bearing in particular on the definition of nobility (and its sale), and on local democracy, and making full use, here as elsewhere, of the relatively unexplored local sources. Two of the papers here appear for the first time in English, whilst a third has been newly prepared for this volume. L’étude historique de la guerre sous Philippe II, roi d’Espagne, est à la base des articles contenus dans le présent recueil. Ceci est abordé non tant sous l’angle militaire, mais comme un problème d’organisation, d’acquisition de matériel et de financement. En un certain sens, ces documents représentent une évaluation de l’efficacité du gouvernement espagnol et peuvent par conséquent, étant donnée l’apparente précocité de la croissance gouvernementale en Espagne au 16 siècle, être considérés comme un commentaire critique quant aux capacités opérationnelles de l’Etat absolu proto-moderne. Une demi douzaine des essais font l’examen de l’Armada espagnole, en terme d’objectifs politiques et militaires, tout en démontrant comment ces derniers étaient conditionnés par des contraintes structurales,